Objectives:
- Evaluate personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty.
- Investigate how physical appearance affects definitions of identity and belonging.
- Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, sub-cultures and generations
Artifact: Personal Adornment Reflection Essay
Reflecting on my dress and customization, I feel that I have evolved my fashion throughout the years. Just last year I felt comfortable going to class in athletic shorts and a sweatshirt and not fixing up my hair at all, but this year I have felt the need to look good for myself and that it is a lot of fun to customize and mix my dress and hair. I like to be current with my fashion and wear things from flannels to nice shirts everyday using different colors. One thing that I have always customized with and been expressive with have been my shoes. Ever since middle school I have worn that I see as unique and different because that’s how I express myself and feel that my shoes sometimes show my values and emotions. I value being a unique individual and believe that it is important to be yourself and express who you are. With my clothing, I believe that I express it is important to do what you enjoy and that I value making yourself feel good with how you look. One thing that has specifically changed for me over the years has been my hair. I haven’t grown my hair out long until recently and have found joy in styling and making it look different with headbands or hats to accessorize and express myself because I think it looks good. What I did not realize until recently was what my hair shows about myself, in C.R. Sanders book “Customizing the Body” he shows what hair has been known to express, “For both males and females hair style consistently has been a semi-permanent way to demonstrate opinion of and connection to current popular taste, established authority, and mainstream values” (Sanders 5). I guess that what I have come to realize is that my hair has given me some authority as I have been told that it makes me look older, and that I like to demonstrate my liking to the current popular taste that so many celebrity males have gone to long hair now as well. The reason why I choose the clothes that I do is because I do not want to be looked down upon because of my appearance and I now realize that I want people to have a good impression of me and see what I value based on my appearance and customization.
Some of the core beliefs from my family include being loving and open to others, working hard, and expressing our true selves no matter how different we may be. Loving and open to others is a value that resonates strongly with me as it is something that I value immensely and carry with me in my everyday life. One way that I express this value is often dressing invitingly like using soft colors and not using piercings or tattoos that may scare people away from your initial impressions. One way that I express my hard working belief in my outfits is when I dress professional to show that I am driven and focused. Finally, I really enjoy expressing myself through my dress and feel that this is very important and can often be seen as an art form. Doing something that you enjoy and can be seen as beautiful by a number of different people is something that should be encouraged and is something that can be a learning experience.
My peer community or friends has a separate core belief and value system that includes having fun, building relationships, and being unique. While being unique was a similar value that I shared with my family, my friends are very unique in how they dress but more specifically in body adornment with tattoos, different hats, watches, and even unique ways of hair styling. The value of having fun is often expressed in my peer community by wearing comical shirts and other clothes that most college kids wear when going out because it is fashionable. Also, we express our belief in building relationships by often dressing similar, on purpose or on accident, and also documenting our appearances with each other. Fashion in college is very unique because of how universal it is but also by how expressive many people can be with how they accessorize. I believe that being able to express oneself with clothing or body adornment is a very unique art form and is very expressive of how people feel and value. From head to toe, people can be seen differently by one subtle difference and the interpretations are vast on the different ways people express themselves.
Reflection:
Having recently completed this artifact, I have had a few days to consider the lessons and traits portrayed in the way we dress. In C.R. Sanders book “Customizing the Body“, the first chapter discusses how body altercation is symbolic to individuals and “Body altercation is culture; it is meaningful to the members of the society in which it occurs, and it is produced within the complex webs of collective action” (Sanders 21). In our culture today, fashion and accessories play a big part in how you are viewed by others and there is definitely a big difference in how people view you based on your geographic location. People dress differently in India than they do in the United States because of what the culture values and the freedom and creativity that the country may or may not allow. The picture I used above is a picture of me (in the middle) at my birthday around a year and a half ago and shows a little bit about how I still dress today. When I see myself I believe that I portray an outgoing attitude with an attention to popular culture in having long styled hair much like my other friend in the picture. This artifact has helped me not only understand the decisions we make with our body decoration and physical beauty, but helps me see the values portrayed by others in this sense. I have been able to identify my personal values that I put on making myself look good and by accessorizing because it is something that is valued by my peer community and my culture as a whole.
One example of fashion and customization in a culture is the culture of college football. Here in Eugene, dressing up and going to games is something that is influenced by the culture as pictured above and wearing the more outrageous clothes helps you stand out more at the games. By dressing in the same colors as everyone else makes you feel a sense of belonging but the different ways that you accessorize shows one’s true identity. Being able to look at others and pick up on values portrayed can be a very important trait and with so many different ways to customize one’s body today, people are starting to express their true selves more. Things like tattoos and piercings have a deep history behind them and this art form is something that has deep meaning behind it for individuals. Even from fashion to hair styles, people look for ways to not only fit in, but also stand out to express their true values.
Future Goals:
Moving forward, this artifact has shown me to look for the things that people are trying to portray with their clothing and body adornment. I would also like to evaluate my own fashion and make sure that I am making conscious decisions with my clothing that show who I am, not what everyone else wants me to be.
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